put on one's thinking cap
put on (one's) thinking cap
To begin thinking or considering very carefully and seriously (about something). If we all put on our thinking caps, I'm sure we can come up with a way to earn enough money to go to the baseball game this weekend. A: "Well, boss, what do you think we should do?" B: "Just let me put on my thinking cap for a minute."
See also: cap, on, put, thinking
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
put on one's thinking cap
Think or reflect seriously, as in A new slogan? I'll have to put on my thinking cap for that. This term originated in the late 1800s and replaced considering cap, which dates from the early 1600s.
See also: cap, on, put, thinking
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
put on one's thinking cap, to
To take time to reflect or ponder. This term, which at first was stated as one’s considering cap, dates from the early seventeenth century. “Now I’ll put on my considering cap,” wrote John Fletcher in his play The Loyal Subject (1618). It only became a thinking cap in the late nineteenth century.
See also: on, put, thinking
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- put on (one's) thinking cap
- put on your thinking cap
- get (one's) thinking cap on
- put thinking cap on
- put your thinking cap on
- put (one's) thinking cap on
- keep (one's) mind on (something)
- keep mind on
- keep your mind on something
- blue-sky thinking